Clouds, Clouds, Clouds - Poems and Sonnets for Those Things in the Sky

Tumbles of soft grave above coalesce
Darkening the misshaped aqua portholes
Making quilts for which we are powerless
To move, as clouds do not obey mortals

If it behooves the sky to rain it shall
With perhaps a droplet upon this book
Water channels may then my words corral
'Fore they are smudged by such unwitting crook

Man has searched the heavens for ciphered runes
To plan his life and his generations
Figuring on the distant stars and moons
In all their angles and constellations

But the closer clouds are most often friends
Bathing and nourishing that which man tends

Quickly the clouds create a blanket soft
All hues of white and gray, they coalesce
From water vapor rising high, aloft
This fabric has no sins it must confess

Once more the sky canvas they consecrate
With threat'ning beauty in their tow'ring shapes
Ever changing combinations demonstrate
A furtive maelstrom hidden by dark capes

Slowly they drift incessant; west to east
Encroaching on the blank, azure spaces
Casting triumphant shadows as they feast
Of moisture, to create forms and faces

Shall they whip up a frenzy in the air
Or cascade by with neither fuss nor care

Now, in the distance a storm approaches
I hear the rumbles before seeing rain
Wonder on the atmospheric coaches
That call this play yet do not daily train

The drizzle increases to a cloud burst
On the pavement, the roofs, the droughty grass
Quickly quenching the green things of their thirst
Not wanting that the downpour soon to pass

It builds to crescendo, thunder and hail
Then casts its erose shadow to the East
Ebbing in fury; broken leaves prevail
Upon the grass; shards of the trees released

The sun is just right, if we look with care
We'll see a rainbow coaxing us to stare

Dark wispy tendrils
Reaching receding reaching receding
Are they coming for a kill
Or just a naughty thrill
There's a deceptive beauty in the roiling gray mass
The cloud bank is fickle; it can storm or it can pass

Clouds at sunset in coral hues
Beckon to lovers for lengthy views
Should volcanic ash be in the air
More brilliant the chiaroscuro flares
Over the rippling ocean's far horizon
Way past Sun's descent, I keep my eyes on
And when the sky particles allow
Purples and reds Nature's beauty avow
The ever changing painting above
Is on display for all to love

The rain is a peaceful fountain from the sky
It nourishes the flora from the clouds up high
The earth worms emerge for a soothing bath
'Til the thunder and lightning of heaven's wrath

Lookup, lookup and watch the ever changing sky
The cumulus clouds drifting by
Herring bones and saucer shapes
Adorn the atmospheric scapes

Play the game of naming what you see
Even if your friend does not agree
Before the mirage is ever gone
Let your imagination yawn

Cumulus clouds dot the eastern sky
Telling of humidity; It's been so dry
Fluffy, puffy, cottony batts
Afloat just above me; grey-white hats